Livestock movements, identification and tracing: electronic identification (EID) in sheep
Questions and answers
- When will electronic identification (EID) be introduced?
- Will all Member States be obliged to introduce EID?
- What does this mean for goats?
- Will all sheep need to be EID’d?
- What is the slaughter derogation?
- What is the minimum keepers will need to do to comply with the new rules?
- What will be the impact on markets and slaughterhouses?
- Why is EID being introduced so soon?
- Why is EID being introduced at all?
- What benefit is there from having EID?
- Does the Government support the introduction of EID?
- How much will EID cost UK sheep keepers?
- EID will put many keepers out of business?
- What evidence has the Government provided to the Commission to support these concerns?
- Is it true that the UK is viewed as a lone voice with regard to EID implementation?
- Why are we worried about older animals?
- What concessions have been negotiated?
- How are industry going to be involved in implementation?
- We read that there have been problems with some of the equipment. When will you be able to confirm that suitable equipment is available and will work?
When will electronic identification (EID) be introduced?
EID will be mandatory for sheep born on or after 31 December 2009.
Will all Member States be obliged to introduce EID?
Member States with a combined sheep and goat population of less than 600,000 or a goat population of 160,000 are exempt from the need to electronically identify animals should they wish to do so. This derogation does not however exempt Member States from the need to individually record animal details.
What does this mean for goats?
EID will not be mandatory for goats because the UK goat population falls below the 160,000 threshold. However, goats will still need to be individually recorded on a holding register.
Will all sheep need to be EID’d?
Only those born after 31 December 2009 will need to be EID’d and even then there is a derogation from the need to electronically identify animals which are intended for slaughter within 12 months of age. We are currently discussing with industry the scope this derogation might take in England.
What is the slaughter derogation?
The slaughter derogation provides for animals intended for slaughter within 12 months of age not to be electronically identified. Animals subject to this derogation would be identified with a single batch tag (ie with no individual number) and would not be subject to the individual recording requirements. They would continue to be moved and recorded on a batch basis. We are currently discussing the scope this derogation might take in England.
What is the minimum keepers will need to do to comply with the new rules?
Keepers will need to ensure that any sheep born after 31 December (which are not intended for slaughter) are identified with an electronic identifier. When these animals move they will need to be individually recorded in the farm register and on movement documents. Date of identification and deaths will also need to be individually recorded in the farm register.
The rules however provide for a phased in approach for individual recording (see Q 17).
What will be the impact on markets and slaughterhouses?
Markets and slaughterhouses will need to record all sheep which pass through their premises on an individual basis, with the exception of those subject to the slaughter derogation. It is recognised that it will be challenging for them to put in place robust EID systems which will be able to cope with large volume movements at speed. This is why a year phasing in period of individual recording on movement documents has been agreed (see Q 17) to allow such premises sufficient time to comply with the requirements.
Why is EID being introduced so soon?
Actually when the Regulation (21/2004) was adopted EID was scheduled for introduction on 1 January 2008. We have therefore been successful in negotiating a further two year delay to allow our industry time to adapt to the changes.
Why is EID being introduced at all?
The FMD outbreak in 2001 identified inadequacies in the EU sheep identification and tracing arrangements. In 2003 new rules were agreed to phase in improvements in our identification and traceability arrangements. The first phase was to introduce double tagging. The second phase is to introduce individual animal traceability which necessitated the introduction of individual animal recording and electronic identification.
What benefit is there from having EID?
EID and individual recording will help to improve traceability. Preliminary independent analysis indicates that in the event of a disease outbreak an EID system would result in cost savings ie from a reduction in the number of infected holdings and the number of animals culled in the cost of handling an outbreak of between 3 and 13%.
There are some in the industry who actively use EID as a tool to help them improve the quality of their breeding flock. This may, in turn, provide them with a marketing tool to help them get value added from the meat from their sheep.
Does the Government support the introduction of EID?
EID is a mandatory EU requirement. We do have concerns about the disproportionate costs and benefits of individual recording and EID which is why we have proposed to the Commission that they review the Regulation to check whether its objectives are being met in the most cost effective way. There is however little support for our proposal from other member States. There is no realistic chance of negotiating EID away or of negotiating further changes beyond those proposed to the annexes of the Regulation between now and the end of next year.
How much will EID cost UK sheep keepers?
Keepers must apply electronic devices, but it is up to them to determine whether they wish to record information electronically. The cost of equipment to facilitate electronic reading varies according to complexity, but in all cases is expected to reduce over time. For detailed information refer to the Regulatory Impact Assessment which is available on the Defra website.
EID will put many keepers out of business?
The impact of the introduction of EID will vary from business to business. Those businesses who use EID to improve the quality of their flock may find a net benefit.
What evidence has the Government provided to the Commission to support these concerns?
- Defra has worked closely with the industry to provide a great deal of evidence from its trials and Regulatory Impact Assessment (PDF). This has been acknowledged in the Commission’s EID report published in November 2007.
- Defra pushed the Commission to carry out their own cost/benefit analysis and have provided robust feedback on it to the Commission. (http://idea.jrc.it/EIDpages/documents/tg/tech_papers_costanalysis.php)
- Defra also facilitated a meeting between the Commission and the UK sheep industry on 2 April, to give industry the opportunity to put their concerns directly to the Commission.
Is it true that the UK is viewed as a lone voice with regard to EID implementation?
Other Member States do not seem to have the same issues as we do with regard to the introduction of EID. This is because their production methods and trading practices are quite different from ours and because we have the largest sheep flock in the EU. Only Ireland seems to operate a system similar to ours. Indeed, some Member States have already implemented EID (Spain, Italy, Cyprus) and many others are actively working towards its introduction. That said the Commission has listened to the UK’s concerns and made significant changes to the detail about how EID is implemented with regard to older animals (Q17).
Why are we worried about older animals?
Because the regulation requires these animals to be individually recorded on movement documents when being moved, even though they may not be electronically identified. This will be challenging to manage, particularly where high volumes of animals are moved.
What concessions have been negotiated?
We have worked closely with the Commission and following negotiations at the EU Commission’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (Scofcah) on 30 June 2008 we secured changes to the annexes of the Regulation that considerably reduce the movement recording burdens. The Regulation now provides a phased in approach to individual recording as follows:
- no animals to have to be individually recorded on a movement document until 1 January 2011;
- no animals born before 31 December 2009 have to be individually recorded on a movement document until 31 December 2011;
- and no animal born before 31 December 2009 and moving to slaughter (directly or via a market) have to be recorded on a movement document at all.
How are industry going to be involved in implementation?
We have worked very closely with industry since 2003 when the regulation was first adopted and will continue to work closely with them with regard to implementation. They have identified there are practical issues with implementation and we need work with them to develop a system with industry which is as practical as possible and that industry can make work.
We have recently reconvened the EID Co-Ordination Group in England. The first meeting will be held on 24 June 2008. This group consists of industry representatives and includes independent farmers who were involved in the EID trials and so have valuable experience in the EID field. We will be working with them and industry over the coming months to discuss how we can implement EID in a way which is practical and which the industry can make work.
We read that there have been problems with some of the equipment. When will you be able to confirm that suitable equipment is available and will work?
New EU Technical Guidelines have been agreed. We will be regulating to ensure that only equipment and devices which meet these standards are sold or supplied for use in England for official EID purposes.
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Page last modified:
25 July, 2008
Page published: 12 February, 2007